The Delovoy Peterburg newspaper, in a review article on the practical application and development of the institution of joint bankruptcy of spouses, quotes comments by Daryana Epikhina, Senior Associate at Petrol Chilikov:

“In another case”, notes Daryana Epikhina, senior associate at Petrol Chilikov law firm, “the Commercial Court of the Irkutsk Region refused to consider a case of joint bankruptcy of spouses, although the debtors, on the contrary, were in favour of the joint proceedings: they had the same creditors, all property was common, etc. In this case, the court referred to the lack of a rule of law providing for joint bankruptcy.

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In July 2020, the State Duma passed in the first reading a draft law giving spouses (ex-spouses) the right to joint bankruptcy. The draft provides for the possibility of filing a joint bankruptcy petition not only by the spouses, but also by their common creditor. It also provides for the right of the financial manager of one spouse to file a petition for bankruptcy of the other spouse if a creditor claims that they have a common obligation to him or her. The claims of each spouse’s personal creditors will be dealt with as part of the couple’s joint bankruptcy. “It is likely that we can expect significant changes in practice in the near future as well,” suggests Daryana Epikhina.